


Protect Her

by melody_1026



Category: Death Note (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Canon Divergence, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Post-Yotsuba Arc (Death Note), Protective Rem (Death Note)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-22
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-14 05:07:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,607
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29537271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/melody_1026/pseuds/melody_1026
Summary: Rem has had it. She is done watching Light Yagami ruin Misa’s life. If Rem is going to protect Misa, she may have to take matters into her own hands.
Relationships: Amane Misa/L
Comments: 2
Kudos: 14





	1. Chapter 1

Rem didn’t want to believe it, but she couldn’t deny what was right before her eyes. _Misa, poor sweet Misa... her lifespan was halved again._ She felt a burning anger swell within her. _She must have made the deal with Ryuk._ If it were possible to strangle him to death, her hands might already be locked around Ryuk’s throat. But that would accomplish nothing except to throw unnecessary suspicion on Misa. Besides, as furious as she was, Rem couldn’t really blame Ryuk. She knew how stubborn Misa was. Once her mind was made up, there was little one could do to dissuade her. And even if Ryuk could refuse, it wouldn’t be in his nature to deny himself new excitement. No, there was only one person to blame: the only person who could have convinced Misa to shorten her life again. This had to be the work of Light Yagami.

Rem hated him. She hated Light. He was a manipulative, arrogant monster. He saw Misa as little more than a pawn and used her with no regard to her feelings. During her time with Higuchi, Rem had actually started to reconsider her feelings of resentment. Higuchi was despicable, and when comparing his selfish motives to Light’s ambitions, she thought she may have been too quick to judge the boy so harshly. Then Higuchi was caught, Light got his memories back, and she saw that it seemed Light was finally treating Misa with the affection she deserved. Rem was overjoyed when she heard him tell the other men that he had developed feelings for her during their time together. While it had seemed impossible, Rem had found herself believing that the past few months had actually changed Light Yagami. 

What an incredibly foolish mistake to make. It was one in a long chain of mistakes, actually. Rem knew now that she should have never given Misa the death note. Rem thought it would be fitting to gift Gelus’s notebook to the one he’d died to protect, but it has done nothing but cause Misa pain. Had Rem never come, Misa would have lived a very long life. She could have focused on her modeling career, becoming an even greater success. She would have still been grateful to Kira for avenging her parents, and she might have still moved to Tokyo in hopes of finding him. But she would not have been successful in her search and she could have eventually made peace with the situation instead of getting involved in the messy life of a serial killer. Most importantly, she would have never met Light Yagami. If she hadn’t become so fixated on Light, she could have possibly found real love instead of chasing a man who would never love her.

Rem had wanted so badly to protect Misa. At first it was as a favor to Gelus, but she quickly grew attached. _What a miserable failure I turned out to be._ She should have never allowed Misa access to such a dangerous power. She should have never stood by and let Misa get used by such an uncaring, self-serving monster of a person. And Rem should have never allowed herself to be so manipulated into serving Light’s sick goals.

_He has to die._ Misa would be distraught, but Rem could see her lifespan so she was fairly certain she wouldn’t commit suicide. _Successfully, at least._ Misa would hate her, but it would be worth it if it meant she was finally safe from him. It was becoming clear that the longer Light was in her life, the worse it got for her. The longer Rem thought about it, the more sense it made. As Light stepped out of Misa’s embrace to head back inside the building, Rem grabbed her pen and rested her hand on the binding of her death note. _I’ll spare Misa the pain of having to watch him die, but as soon as Light Yagami is out her line of sight..._ A smug smirk spread across Rem’s lips as the door shut behind Light as he entered the building. _I guess your genius mind didn’t foresee a shinigami seeing through your crap. How strange that a heartless man can still die of a heart attack. Your time is up, Light Yagami_.

But then, Rem paused. Just as she was about to yank out her notebook and flip it open, something, or rather someone, caught her eye. She had been so fixated on the images on the screen and her own inner dialog that she had at some point stopped paying attention to the men in the room with her. Last she saw, L Lawliet, or Ryuzaki as the others call him, had been just as invested in the screens as she had been; but when Light turned to head back inside, L had turned an eye in her direction. His abnormally large eyes popped open even wider as he observed the pen in her hand and his gaze trailed over to where her hand was resting on her notebook. He whipped his chair around to face her directly and just stared.

Rem didn’t know if this was supposed to be an intimidation technique or if he just didn’t want to miss any detail of what she was about to do; but if it was the former, it kind of worked in its own way. His abrupt movement brought the attention of all the investigation team to Rem, and she released her death note and put away her pen before they caught on to what L was staring at. She wasn’t exactly fond of the idea of killing Light with such an audience. Besides, she hadn’t been thinking clearly enough to actually deduce whether or not this would have negative ramifications for Misa’s proof of innocence. To kill him now, without first thinking it through, would be rash.

“Is something the matter, Ryuzaki?” Chief Yagami questioned when he couldn’t pinpoint any particular cause for L’s reaction.

Ignoring Light’s father, L continued to stare silently at Rem. _Geez, does this kid even blink?_ Rem was starting to feel uncomfortable under his gaze when Light opened the door to the main investigation room. Apparently, and to Rem’s relief, Light’s entrance was significant enough to L to warrant breaking off his staring contest and focusing his attention elsewhere. “Hey guys,” Light looked around at the room full of people all looking at L. “What’s going on?”

L hopped out of his chair before anyone else could respond, “I am afraid that I must be overdue for some real, honest-to-goodness sleep. I am extremely jumpy tonight for no good reason. I saw Rem in my peripheral vision and nearly fell from my chair.” L shook his head and chuckled dryly to himself. “One would think I’d be over the shock of seeing a real shinigami by now. After years of denying the existence of a spiritual realm, I suppose it is difficult for me to fully wrap my head around this new development.”

L stretched and turned to his team. “You are all dismissed for the night. I would advise those with families to take the opportunity to spend some time with them. I see no need for us to meet tomorrow morning. We can meet here after lunch to further discuss the death note.”

Light stepped forward, “Actually, Ryuzaki, I meant to speak with you about that. I really feel like I need to stay here until this case is wrapped up. I just know I won’t be able to relax away from headquarters until this case is totally put to rest. Do you mind if I still stay here?”

“Of course I don’t mind. I never meant to imply you or anyone else on the team were unwelcome here. It was merely a suggestion. I thought you might appreciate the opportunity to see your family after all this time. Anyone who wishes to continue to use their assigned quarters may do so.”

“Light,” Chief Yagami stepped in, “I understand your dedication to solving this case, but don’t you think you could at least come home for dinner? Your mother has been very understanding of your absence but she misses you terribly. I really think you should come home.”

”Dad, please try to understand. I’ve been working myself to the bone trying to prove my innocence for months now. I know Misa and I have been declared free of suspicion, but I don’t feel comfortable letting my guard down yet. I would just be distracted and uncomfortable. It would stress mom out and she would worry about me even more than she already does. I would much rather wait until everything is completely behind me and I am actually ready to settle back into normal life.”

“I do understand, but I still think...” Light’s father continued protesting Light’s decision to skip out on the visit home, but L must have decided he was done listening to their debate. Rem watched L as he headed to the stairs, talking over the Yagamis’ discussion, “Since there is no longer a need for the handcuffs I believe I would prefer my own sleeping quarters. If you do decide to stay, Light, you will continue to use our normal suite. I have an alternative room already prepared for me.” L briefly but pointedly caught Rem’s eye as he walked past her. He motioned with his eyes up the stairs and raised his eyebrows.

It was obvious he was inviting her to join him. He must want to question her without the other’s knowledge. He continued up the stairs without pause, leaving the decision up to her to humor him or not. She turned her attention back to Light just in time to see him hug his father goodnight. He had finally convinced him to just give his family his love. As the others were packing up to leave, Rem quickly decided to slip away to an empty part of the building. She had been trying her best to act unbothered and mostly disengaged from the conversation all day, hopefully giving the impression that she was only hanging around as a mildly interested spectator. Besides her obvious slip up earlier, she felt she had done an adequate job. The others didn’t know she was currently attached to Light, and her plan had been to keep it that way until Light could find a way to inform her of his plan. Now though, she wasn’t so sure she was interested in whatever plan Light had cooked up. He obviously wasn’t looking out for Misa’s best interests if he would trick her into making the eye deal again. For now, she figured it would be best to avoid Light altogether, at least until she figured out whether or not she should proceed with the boy’s death.

Rem spent a while exploring the building. It seemed rather extravagant, considering the size of the investigation team. Rem easily found the room where she had seen Misa on screen packing up her belongings before she left. Rem looked around the room, feeling thankful. At least it seems Misa was well taken care of during her stay. When Rem had left Misa, she was bound, blindfolded, and in pain. Up until she saw her at that party Misa hosted for the Yotsuba group, Rem had been worried that Misa had been made to suffer all these months. While she would never forget L Lawliet’s initial treatment of Misa, at least he had eventually come to his senses.

At the thought of L, Rem found herself curiously looking in the direction of his room. Something about his invitation intrigued her. She knew it was probably a bad idea, but she was curious and she believed she could be smart enough to satisfy that curiosity without compromising Misa. And if he did start asking questions she didn’t care to answer, she could always just leave. So, against her better judgement, she shot up toward his room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright guys, I want to level with you. 
> 
> I am still new to writing fan fiction. Not only is this my first Death Note story, but it’s my first multi-chapter story. I am extremely nervous about starting something longer than a one shot. I want to do a good job, and I really don’t want to be that person who abandons a fic without completing it if people are interested in it at all. If you want me to update, please feel free to nag me. 
> 
> Also, this is rated T, so don’t expect anything too spicy. I usually write G rated stories, but I upped this to T just to be safe.
> 
> I know this is just the beginning, but if you enjoyed this and would like to read more, please let me know! I’m excited to try to explore a new story with these characters. Thanks for checking this out and hopefully see you soon for chapter 2!


	2. Chapter 2

Rem didn’t know it, but L was watching her. It had almost been fun, like a game, switching cameras from room to room as she flew around headquarters. Apparently, shinigami could choose to either have wings or no wings, be solid or intangible. _It would be fascinating to do a proper study on the science of these creatures._

L couldn’t say with 100% certainty why the shinigami followed them to headquarters after Higuchi’s death. He had suspected she wanted to keep an eye on the death note. He had, of course, asked her; but she had just shrugged and flew off through a wall. Since she didn’t seem to mind letting it out of her sight, the logical conclusion would be she had another purpose for being here. _So why?_

When it came to trying to figure Rem out, L had to admit that he was at a bit of a loss. There were times Rem completely ignored his questions, as if she couldn’t be bothered. There were other times, however, that she had actually sat down with him and answered his questions, though the truthfulness of her statements were certainly questionable. It was subtle, but L had definitely picked up on a slight hesitation before some of her answers. _She’s trying to conceal certain information. If only I can pinpoint a pattern with which questions make her nervous..._ L sighed. He’d experienced many strange things throughout his career, but he still would have never guessed in a million years that he would one day be trying to psychologically analyze the mind of a literal god of death.

Rem was far different than he’d ever imagined she would be. Her appearance was a bit startling at first, but once you got used to it, she really didn’t seem all that scary. As to her personality, her primary characteristic seemed to be one of boredom. He had imagined a death god would be mean and vindictive; but despite being decidedly unhelpful, Rem had seemed amicable enough. At least she hadn’t killed any of his team yet.

_She almost did though._ L shuddered a little at the memory. Out of the corner of his eye he had noticed a shift in the shinigami. Her eyes had gone blood red. She had a pen and was reaching for her notebook. He wasn’t aware that the shinigami had a notebook on her person. He had assumed that the death note they had recovered from Higuchi was her personal notebook and it was merely lent out to a human user. _Which again begs the question, does Higuchi’s notebook belong to Rem or is there another reason she’s following us? How many death notes can a shinigami own? Have all three Kira’s been a result of this shinigami or are there other shinigami involved we have yet to meet?_ The questions were endless. Rem had made herself seem so unthreatening that L had let his guard down. Now that he knew she had a notebook to use, he would have to keep his eyes open. He didn’t know who her target was meant to be, nor did he really understand why she chose to stop. He could only be grateful she did. _I must ask Watari to arrange for constant surveillance on her from now on._

The shinigami paused in her seemingly aimless flight. She had reached Misa Amane’s room. Instead of taking a quick look around then continuing on as she had been, she seemed to take a special interest in this room. She settled her feet on the floor and tucked away her wings, beginning a quick walk around as she examined the furnishings. And if L wasn’t mistaken - _Could it be? -_ She was actually smiling. _Fascinating. Rem, could this possibly indicate that you have a connection to Amane?_ Having a shinigami admire your living quarters was hardly incriminating evidence, of course, but L would be sure to take note of this irregularity.

Rem stopped and looked up at the ceiling. Suddenly, her wings snapped open and she zoomed up at a quick pace. She phased through several floors, too fast for L to keep up the camera switches. L stopped trying when it hit him. If she continued straight up then she’d be headed straight into his room. He slammed the laptop shut and shoved it under his pillow just in time to turn and see her head phasing through his floor.

Despite knowing she was coming, he still jumped a little at the sight. Only a little though. Rem had schooled her features back into the blank slate she had worn all day, but L could still see that something had caught her interest.

L allowed himself a smirk as he brought a finger to his lip and pulled his knees up to his chest, “Good evening, Rem. This is a pleasant surprise.”

”I have no use for fake flattery, detective. I highly doubt you find my presence pleasant. Your kind rarely do.” Rem seemed to consider something before continuing, “Just so I’m clear, I take it you would prefer that I address you as Ryuzaki?”

_Wait, does she know?_ Curiosity sufficiently tweaked, L raised an eyebrow and nodded, “I wouldn’t go so far as to say your presence is unpleasant. A bit unsettling at times, but then we’re just getting used to each other. As for my name, in general, yes, I would appreciate that. However, as we are able to speak with complete discretion in this room, you may address me by any name you so choose.”

It was true. This may make him a hypocrite, but L had wanted to provide at least one room where he could escape surveillance if he desired. The only other person who knew was Watari, and L had provided Watari with a private room as well. So yeah, maybe they were hypocrites, but they were funding this whole thing so it was his opinion that they were allowed some small privileges.

Rem nodded, “Alright, L Lawliet it is then.”

It was no surprise that the shinigami knew his real name, but it was still strangely jarring for L to hear his full name spoken out loud. _How long has it been?_ When not working under an alias, Watari always referred to him as just L. How strange to think that his own name could sound so foreign to him. It was L’s hope that by dropping his guard and inviting her to use his name, she might drop her own guard down as well. Nothing she said in this room would be recorded, so it couldn’t be used as evidence; but he hoped to perhaps gain a little bit of the shinigami’s trust.

“Sounds good. Please make yourself comfortable, Rem.”

Rem eyed him curiously, studying him for a moment. Then she sank into a crouch, bringing her knees to her chest and resting her hands on her knees. When she cocked her head at him in anticipation, L couldn’t help himself. He burst out laughing, “Are you trying to mimic me?”

Rem shrugged, “You said to make myself comfortable. I thought there must be a reason you chose this particular posture. After trying it out for myself, I would say that while it has its merits, there are still plenty of better ways to sit.

”Well, now I’m curious. What are the merits you deduced from your little experiment?”

”It’s in the way your arms press your legs against your body. It feels kind of nice, almost like a weird hug.”

”Mmm... interesting. And the negatives?”

”It requires a lot of balance, and therefore one could not get too comfortable without the risk of tipping over.”

L laughed again, “You know, Rem, I think I might like you. You have the makings of a fine detective.”

Rem rolled her eyes, “I doubt that. As a general rule, we shinigami are remarkably dull creatures. We have far too little curiosity and ambition for something as mind taxing as detective work.”

”Well, that is a shame. Your deduction skills show promise. For example,” L gestured toward his sitting position, “bringing my knees up to my chest serves both as protection and a comfort. It protects my center and gives me that feeling of safety you were referring to. I have never thought of it as resembling a hug, but I cannot say I disagree with your assessment.” L pulled his knees even tighter to illustrate the point. “As to your comments on balance, believe it or not that is one of the very reasons why I have adopted this as my primary sitting position. Other people who sit similarly to me will rest their bottom on the seat. While that may be more comfortable, I prefer to balance on my feet because I find it helps keep my mind more active. I have excellent balance, so I am still comfortable in my own weird way without losing any of my deductive ability.”

The only response Rem graced him with was to look at him as though he was the strangest human she’d ever met. To be fair, he probably was, but that was beside the point. “I’m sorry. I doubt you came here to discuss my weird habits. Is there something you wished to discuss with me?”

”I was under the impression that you invited me here. You wished to speak with me alone, or as you put it before, ‘with discretion’?”

_Straight to the point then._ ”If you wouldn’t mind, then, yes, I do have a few questions.” L grabbed a lollipop off his nightstand and swirled it around his tongue. He sighed in relief as he felt the effect of the sugar start to make its way through his system. “If you have no interest in fake pleasantries than I can assume the same is true for useless small talk. In that case, I’ll avoid beating around the bush. The questions on my mind tonight are not centered around Kira necessarily, though they will of course contribute to understanding the case. They are more about trying to understanding you.”

”Me?” Rem looked a little nervous, but not entirely put off.

“Yes,” L elaborated. “Your motivations. Your purpose. For example, what drives a shinigami to kill?”

“When a human is killed by a shinigami, it is rarely personal. Shinigami must kill in order to survive.”

”Really?”

“Yes, when we write down a human’s name, the years they would have naturally lived are added onto ours. If we neglected to write names long enough, we would eventually break down into dust.”

”Fascinating. So when used by your kind, the death note is not a murder device at all. It’s really about sustaining life.” L’s fingers itched to pull out his laptop and start journaling Rem’s words, but he wasn’t sure how long she would cooperate with this interview. “If a death note is vital for your survival, why would you lend it to a human user?”

Rem eyed him quizzically, “I know you saw that I keep my death note with me. I would never lend out my personal death note. The death note you found with Higuchi was not originally mine, and it’s too long of a story for me to bother with explaining right now.”

“Perhaps some other time then,“ L knew better than to push the matter. _I’m starting to lose her._ Since his time was going to be limited, he tried get around to the point of his main concern. “Back when the term “shinigami” was first mentioned early on in this case, I did research into Japanese mythology regarding death gods. Being a nonbeliever in the spiritual realm at the time, a large part of me thought it to be a waste of time; but I also knew it would be careless to completely disregard a potential lead. Now that I’ve met you, I must still agree that most records of reported encounters with a shinigami seem to be complete rubbish. They were described as grotesque creatures with devilish red eyes and giant teeth. Another passage referred to them as menacing red-eyed demons who sought to steal human souls. Personally, I see very little resemblance between you and the shinigami described by these other so-called eyewitnesses. While you are decidedly not human, I would never describe you as grotesque. And giant teeth? Red eyes?” L shook his head in annoyance, “Just more products of human imagination, it would seem. Though,” L paused, “I must admit that I am a bit relieved. You have a fairly pleasant appearance as you are, but the idea of you with glowing red eyes and large teeth creates a terrifying mental image.”

L rested his cheek against his knees in an attempt to be appear more vulnerable, “Well, Rem, you would be the expert in this matter. What about the other shinigami? Do you think there is a chance the other one has the more devilish appearance the legends describe?”

”It is possible,” Rem answered in a noncommittal voice, “Shinigami are not like humans in that regard. We often bear very little resemblance to one another. Depending on your definition of grotesque or devilish, other shinigami you encounter could fit that description.”

L raised his eyebrows, “Really? I wasn’t even being all that serious. I honestly didn’t expect that. So maybe those texts were not as fake as I made them out to be?”

“I suspect most human record of the supernatural would be a mixture of truth and imagination. That would seem to be true in the case of shinigami. For example, while I can assure you that we don’t steal souls, our eyes can glow red.”

”Really? All shinigami? Even you?” L sprang forward off his bed and leaned into Rem’s face. “Why aren’t they glowing now?”

Rem grabbed L by the arms and lifted him off his feet. L bit back a shriek, and thankfully Rem just set him back on his bed. “Watch it, L Lawliet. I need my personal space too.”

“Sorry,” L stuttered meekly, though he was screaming inside. _Oh my gosh, that was terrifying!_ “I guess I was just a little excited.”

“Just don’t do it again,” Rem scolded him, but thankfully didn’t seem angry. “Now, to answer your question — Shinigami’s eyes tend to glow red only when impassioned. Shinigami are usually apathetic creatures, but this does not mean that they are incapable of great emotion. If I became extremely enraged or excited, it would be possible that my eyes would glow red.”

L took a moment to answer. He was still taking deep breaths to try to calm himself down. When he knew he could speak without his voice quivering, he attempted to joke, “Well, I guess you’re not too mad at me then, seeing as your eyes are non luminescent.”

A small smile teased the corner of Rem’s mouth, “Don’t worry. Compared to other humans I’ve interacted with, you actually aren’t that bad. I’m not saying I like you. In fact, there are some things I can’t stand about you. But you don’t seem as bad as I once imagined you’d be.”

Rem stood and opened her wings, “I think I’ve seen enough of this room for now.”

L quickly stood, at a respectable distance this time, “I appreciate you stopping by. I enjoyed our little chat. And no, I’m not giving you fake pleasantries.” L was a little surprised to find he was telling the truth. “I would love for you to stop by again tomorrow evening.”

The slightest grin passed over Rem’s face, “No promises, but perhaps, L Lawliet.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It took me longer than I would have liked to get this update out. Unfortunately, I’m finding myself too busy to work on writing much more than I currently already am. Updates may be slow but I’ll do my best. 
> 
> As always, thanks for checking out this next chapter. Thank you for taking the time to read my story, and I would appreciate any feedback you can give me.


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